It is only March 6th but the Mets 25 man roster is already very close to being wrapped up. With a few exceptions being the 4th OF, last bench spot, 2nd lefty, starting SS according to Terry Collins, and the long man in the bullpen if/when Gee gets traded.
The battle for the 2nd lefty has the most suitors and maybe the most important with the way Terry Collins likes to use his #1, presumably Josh Edgin this year.
Favorite:
Sean Gilmartin: Mets drafted him in the Rule 5 draft and seem like they will give him every opportunity to make the roster so they don’t have to return him to the Twins. While he has been used mostly as a starter in the Minor Leagues his splits against lefties suggest he could be a valuable loogy. Lefties only hit .201/.219/.235 against him last year in AAA.
Middle of the Pack:
Jack Leathersich: If he could find his control (4.6 BB/9 last year) he could be a valuable part of the Mets bullpen for years to come. Leathersich strikes out alot of people (15.4 K/9 last year) and it has a lot to do with his delivery and how he hides the ball. He normally tops out around 93-94 MPH, but hitters say that it feels like 100 because of his arm angle and how fast the ball gets on top of them. He was added to the 40-man roster this offseason giving him a good chance if he can improve his control this spring.
Dario Alvarez: Made a name for himself last year by starting year in Savannah while ending it in Flushing. Tough not to root for Dario who was out of affiliated baseball for 3 years before pitching for Brooklyn in 2013. In 73 innings in Minors last year he struck out 114 hitters while only allowing 68 baserunners. He does have very limited experience with only 12 innings above A ball so it wouldn’t be surprising to see him get more seasoning. He is on the 40-man roster giving him an edge over the NRI’s.
Long Shots:
Scott Rice: Thirty-three years old and coming off elbow surgery Scott finds his return to the Majors will be an uphill battle. He was awful last year probably because he was pitching with a bum elbow. He enters Mets camp as a non-roster invitee and would have to really impress this spring to get back on the 40. Maybe the best thing going to for him is how much Terry Collins seem to like overusing his arm.
Darin Gorski: After being in Major League camp last year he was not invited back making him an extreme longshot. He has pitched great at Binghamton the last two years (1.83 and 2.22 ERA respectively) but has struggled to get outs at Las Vegas evident by his 5.02 ERA.
The Mets could decide to start the season without a 2nd lefty in the bullpen like they did last year. I think that would be a mistake and troublesome for the left arm of Edgin.
Update: Leathersich started his Spring Training off rough walking the first 2 batters he faced on 8 pitches but was able to settle down and get the next three hitters 1-2-3.
Alvarez also allowed a walk and a single but finished the inning with a strikeout and a double play turned by Matt Reynolds and Wilfredo Tovar.
